The Importance of Sleep
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: Stella, working late at the office again, needs to go home and sleep, and Mac's just the one to make sure she does it.


Disclaimer: I own nothing!!

As for Hill Harper, as gorgeous as he is, sadly I do not own him, although if I did, you would never know it.

Stella Bonasera tried to ignore the burning sensation that was taking over her eys, and the blurriness that was taking over her vision as she looked over the evidence. She didn't notice Sheldon and Danny looking at her worriedly. She kept examining the evidence, looking for something that would put Sebastian Ezio in jail for good. They were all worried about her as she seemed to never leave the lab. Mac was the most worried though, he knew Stella could work through a hurricane but she was working 24/7. Jane walked up to Hawkes to give him DNA test results, when she saw Stella she looked at Hawkes worried.

"Is she okay?" Jane asked him, worried about Stella, as Stella was one of her best friends

Sheldon nodded, touching Jane's arm lightly "Don't worry, she'll be fine, I'm going to page Mac and see if he'll take her home"

Jane nodded and walked out still worried about Stella. Hawkes pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Mac, telling him that he needed to come get Stella, she was about use their evidence as a pillow.

Mac sat in his office, mulling over paperwork when his phone went off, looking at the message, he quickly left his office, and headed down to the evidence examination room. He stood in the doorway, watching Stella, continuously rubbing her eyes, trying to rid them of the burning sensation and the blurriness taking over her vision. He walked over to her and gently grabbed her arms from behind.

"Hey beautiful, come on let's get you home and in bed, before you use this evidence as a pillow" Mac said softly, coaxing her up off the chair not caring that Sheldon and Danny heard him

Stella shook her head "I'm fine Mac"

Mac shook his head as he gently pulled her up "No sweetheart, you're not, you need to sleep, come on"

He placed his hand on her lower back and led her over to the rack where their lab coats hung, and made her trade her's, noticing she didn't have a jacket, he shrugged out his leather one and wrapped it around her, and lead her to the locker room. He gently unclipped her badge and gun and put it in her locker before locking it. Upon her look, he shook his head.

"You can pick them up in a few days, after you've caught up on your sleep, you're to tired to worry about it right now" Mac whispered soothingly

He led her out of the lab, and into his Chevy Avalanche(I don't about you but I love Mac's truck it rocks). The ride to his house was silent, by the time they arrived Stella was asleep in the passenger seat. He carried her to his apartment and gently laid her in bed. He removed his jacket from her body and her shoes before pulling the covers up over her, as she snuggled deeper into the warm bed.

He called the lab, when Danny answered he quickly said "Danny, listen, Stella's going to be out for a few days and so am I, all of our stuff is at the lab, there's a key to my office, in my locker, you know the combination if you need anything, you're in charge until we come back"

"Stella alright boss?" Danny asked, his Brooklyn accent strong over the phone

He looked over at Stella in his bed, sound asleep "She'll be fine, she just needs to catch up on her sleep, she'll be back to normal in a few days"

"Alright, I'll tell Jane, she's especially worried about her" Danny told Mac

Mac knew that Stella and Jane had formed a close bond after the bomb in the lab, Stella had saved Jane, who had not been aware of anything and that brought them to bond over everything, including Stella's new found relationship with Mac.

After they hung up, Mac changed and climbed into bed, his arm wrapping around Stella, who buried her face in his shoulder. He looked down and realized she hadn't worn make up that day and that's why she had looked especially beautiful. He gently kissed her head.

"Goodnight beautiful" Mac whispered laying his own head down to go to sleep

A few days later, Mac had given Stella the okay to go back to work, on the promise that she wouldn't wear herself out again, as it worried everyone. That same day she came back to work, she hadn't seen Mac all day and felt like she needed to thank him.

She knocked on the door and waited for him to give her a signal to come in, once he did she walked in, and set the file she was holding on his desk.

"I felt like I should thank you, for taking me home for a few days, I was working myself too hard" Stella told him quietly

Mac stood up and walked up to her threading his hand through her hair "Sweetheart, I love you, I couldn't stand to see you so exhausted"

"I just wanted to catch him" Stella told him softly

"I know, that's why everyone in the lab looked over the evidence, we got him" Mac smiled

Stella leaned up to him, whispered "I love you too" right before her lips crashed onto his.

Stella kept her promise, and everyday, the team would see Mac lead Stella out of the lab, his arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder. Sleep is important for a lot of things, it recharges the mind and the body, it gives the person a chance to relax and unwind, but for Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera, it was a chance for them to learn just how they felt about each other. As for Stella, she quickly learned the importance of sleep.

There it is, and I think it was pretty good, for someone who had writer's block for three weeks, which sucked big time, but I'm good and should be back up writing stories in no time!

Don't kill me because I didn't include Flack(King of Sarcasm) and Lindsay (Montana).


End file.
